UN & Partners Launch Global Partnership on Marine Litter at Rio+20

Governments, industry representatives and UN bodies have backed a new partnership to tackle the damage caused by marine litter to the environment.

Jun 19, 2012

The Global Partnership on Marine Litter, which will be led by the United Nations Environment Programmme (UNEP), was launched at a side event during the Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro.

The Government of the Netherlands, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Plastics Pollution Coalition and a number of UN agencies, were among those to signal their support for the initiative.

It follows recommendations made by 64 countries at a UN meeting held in Manila earlier this year to step up global efforts to protect oceans from land-based pollution.

Despite ongoing efforts to prevent and reduce marine debris (such as plastic bottles or discarded fishing gear), there is evidence that the problem continues to grow - with significant impacts on biodiversity, health and livelihoods.